The Andromeda Strain: A Critical Analysis Essay -- English Literature:

The Andromeda Strain: A Critical Analysis In 1969 Michael Crichton wrote The Andromeda Strain, a book that would forever expand the limits of a science fiction novel. Although written in 1969, it deals with very current issues facing the modern day boilogical and even political realm. Technically a science fiction novel, the meticulously crafted plot is so intertwined with actual science and technology that some have catagorized it as "science fact." It is this realistic overtone that gives the impression that perhaps, someday, events in the book could actually take place. Plot Synopsis The book opens up with a fictional page of acknowledgments stating "This book recounts the five-day history of a major American scientific crisis." From this opening sentence, the author immediately sets the tone as one of historical narration of events that actually took place. It is supposed to be a retelling of a scientific tradgedy with monumental implications. From here, the story the author relates begins. Five years earlier the United States government initiated a program called Project Scoop. The project's purpose was to send unmanned space capsules into the earth's outer atmosphere to collect samples and examine them. The hope was that undiscovered biological agents could be found for potential use as biological weapons of war. Overall, the Scoop program had been somewhat of a dissapointment until the seventh launch. It reentered the earth's atmosphere over small town in Arizona, where a team of two men were sent to retrieve it. Upon entering the town they found no signs of life and suddenly and unexplicably died themselves. This occurence set in motion something the government had secretly planned for ca... ...ploy would be to grow a number of microorganisms that would grow uninhibited in the vastness of space. The alien race would send them out in random directions where they would drift perpetually until finally reaching other life. Once reaching their destination, they would develop into full organ, or organism capable of communication. They would inform the other race of the presence of the other, and possible ways to communicate back. This seemed amusing to the more practical scientists, but it had to be considered a possibility with Andromeda. Overall, "The Andromeda Strain's" extremely technical subject matter made it challenging to read, but informative on a level usually not touched on by other science fiction novels. The plot itself as well as the concepts conveyed in this book make it relevent to the modern biologic world, even over 30 years later.

Book Review “Thinking, Fast and Slow” Essay

I read the international bestseller â€Å"Thinking, Fast and Slow† of Daniel Kahneman (Winner of the Nobel Prize) over the last 3-4 weeks. I think it is a very interesting book and it is describing very critically the human brain and mind, which gave me many insights into decision-making and errors we are doing automatically without noticing it every day. He is very often talking about â€Å"System 1† and â€Å"System 2†. System 1 is fast; it’s intuitive, associative, metaphorical, automatic, impressionistic, and it can’t be switched off. Its operations involve no sense of intentional control, but it’s the â€Å"secret author of many of the choices and judgments you make† and it’s the hero of Daniel Kahneman’s book Thinking, Fast and Slow. System 2 is slow, deliberate, effortful. Its operations require attention. System 2 takes over, rather unwillingly, when things get difficult. It’s â€Å"the conscious being you call ‘I'†, and one of Kahneman’s main points is that this is a mistake. You’re wrong to identify with System 2, for you are also and equally and profoundly System 1. Kahneman compares System 2 to a supporting character who believes herself to be the lead actor and often has little idea of what’s going on. System 2 is slothful, and tires easily – so it usually accepts what System 1 tells it. It’s often right to do so, because System 1 is for the most part pretty good at what it does; it’s highly sensitive to subtle environmental cues, signs of danger, and so on. It does, however, pay a high price for speed. It loves to simplify, to assume WYSIATI (â€Å"what you see is all there is†), even as it gossips and embroiders and confabulates. It’s hopelessly bad at the kind of statistical thinking often required for good decisions, it jumps wildly to conclusions and it’s subject to a fantastic suite of irrational biases and interference effects (the halo effect, the â€Å"Florida effect†, framing effects, anchoring effects, the confirmation bias, outcome bias, hindsight bias, availability bias, the focusing illusion, and so on). Thousands of experiments have been conducted, right across the broad board of human life, all to the same general effect. We don’t know who we are or what we’re like, we don’t know what we’re really doing and we don’t know why we’re doing it. That’s a System 1 exaggeration, for sure, but there’s more truth in it than you can easily imagine. Judges think they make considered decisions about parole based strictly on the facts of the case. It turns out (to simplify only slightly) that it is their blood-sugar levels really sitting in judgment. We also hugely underestimate the role of chance in life (this is again System 1’s work). Analysis of the performance of fund managers over the longer term proves conclusively that you’d do just as well if you entrusted your financial decisions to a monkey throwing darts at a board. There is a tremendously powerful illusion that sustains managers in their belief their results, when good, are the result of skill; Kahneman explains how the illusion works. The fact remains that â€Å"performance bonuses† are awarded for luck, not skill. They might as well be handed out on the roll of a die: they’re completely unjustified. This may be why some banks now speak of â€Å"retention bonuses† rather than performance bonuses, but the idea that retention bonuses are needed depends on the shared myth of skill, and since the myth is known to be a myth, the system is profoundly dishonest – unless the dart-throwing monkeys are going to be cut in. In an experi ment designed to test the â€Å"anchoring effect†, highly experienced judges were given a description of a shoplifting offence. They were then â€Å"anchored† to different numbers by being asked to roll a pair of dice that had been secretly loaded to produce only two totals – three or nine. Finally, they were asked whether the prison sentence for the shoplifting offence should be greater or fewer, in months, than the total showing on the dice. Normally the judges would have made extremely similar judgments, but those who had just rolled nine proposed an average of eight months while those who had rolled three proposed an average of only five months. All were unaware of the anchoring effect. The same goes for all of us, almost all the time. We think we’re smart; we’re confident we won’t be unconsciously swayed by the high list price of a house. We’re wrong. (Kahneman admits his own inability to counter some of these effects.) We’re also hopelessly subject to the â€Å"focusing illusion†, which can be conveyed in one sentence: â€Å"Nothing in life is as important as you think it is when you’re thinking about it.† Whatever we focus on, it bulges in the heat of our attention until we assume its role in our life as a whole is greater than it is. Daniel Kahneman won a Nobel prize for economics in 2002 and much of his time he’s working together with Amos Tversky. Thinking, Fast and Slow has its roots in their joint work. It is an outstanding book, distinguished by beauty and clarity of detail, precision of presentation and gentleness of manner.

Essay on Personal Narrative My Mistake - 566 Words

Although high school was over for me in June 2009, I still think about the memories of my freshman, sophomore, and junior years. In these first three years of my high school experience I did not participate in school activities except drama club and a beauty pageant. I regret my decision of not participating in clubs, or going to the sport games, and not attending events in school. I would go back and change this decision for many reasons. Not participating in school resulted in me not meeting as many classmates as I could have. Also, it became hard for me to fill out college applications, because I did not have anything to state in the school activities section. Finally, not participating in school for the first three years will result in†¦show more content†¦By going to these events it would have game me ammunition to expand my social circle. Participating in school events would have allowed me to interact with the classmates. For example, if I had attended a fundraising e vent that allows group effort I could strike up a conversation with a classmate. Being involved with many activities would have allowed me to meet new and fun people. Furthermore, some high school students dread the process of applying to colleges in their senior year. I to had to go through this long process, but I feel as though it was harder for me to fill out the college applications. Contained in a college application is a section for the applicant to list their accomplishments and school activities for the admission office to view. However, I could list my accomplishments during my high school years, but I did not have anything to write in the school activities section except for drama and runner up in a beauty pageant. As a result, I did not get accepted into as many colleges as I could have with the addition of school activities. In addition, high school memories are suppose to stay with us forever. We remember the things we did in high school through a yearbook or simply pa ssing down our experiences orally. Unfortunately, I do not have as many memories to share with my family during my first three years of high school due to lack or participation. The only memories I could share is making an A on school work or accepting anShow MoreRelatedPersonal Narrative: Learning From My Mistakes Essay947 Words   |  4 Pagescan’t do this anymore, it’s ruining my life†. Many of my friends have started smoking cigarettes while drinking at a very young age, and continue to use this drug currently and don’t realize the affect it has on their future. While I have been smart enough to avoid smoking, I haven’t been as wise at making decisions when it comes to drinking. The amount of partying I’ve done in college has taken over my life, and has had a huge impact on my grades. Changing my drinking habits and continuing to avoidRead MorePersonal Reflection1050 Words   |  5 PagesEducation Student Outlines, and it was evident wh ile revising my first project, the personal narrative. The first objective was â€Å"Students will identify and apply multiple approaches to the study of language, usage, grammar, diction, and style of standard written English.† In the course, I definitely had to approach the study of language in multiple different ways. I learned about many different writing styles, from the personal narrative of Project One, to the research intensive academic paper ofRead MoreIllness Narrative Essay929 Words   |  4 PagesMy Illness Narrative Sharing and listening to the illness narratives in class is an experience that I do not think I could ever forget. Listening to people share their raw emotions and stories of struggle and illness was eye opening, My own illness narrative could be described as a quest narrative and more specifically an automythology. This is because as I stated in my presentation, I became a better person, adopted skills that helped me deal with my father’s illness, understood what it is likeRead MoreFor Many Human Beings, It Is Natural To Go Through Multiple1714 Words   |  7 Pages For many human beings, it is natural to go through multiple partners throughout our lifespans. As we go through these relationships, we learn many important lessons from our past mistakes and improve on them. Sometimes we even go to songs for guidance and find meaning to these emotions that we feel after these breakups. Often to remedy this,we go to the songs that speak to us the most as â€Å"Lyrics lend people an alternative means for finding words to convey their otherwise inaccessible memories, emotionsRead MoreI Was Never A School For Me890 Words   |  4 Pagesme. It seemed so boring to me compared to manipulating numbers and learning about the processes occurring in the world around me. Although, I disliked writing, I was never a bad writer in school throughout my educational career I had always received A’s on essays even in honors and AP classes. My main problem occurred with timed essays because I do not like being rushed when I’m writing, especially when i’m expected to create a nuanced idea to support. When placed into writing 1 I was very disappointedRead MoreReflection Paper1022 Words   |  5 Pageswritten essay. By using the learning objectives exemplified in the class I was able to write multiple well written papers. The first writing assignment was a literacy narrative. This narrative did not ask for much, but to write a brief anecdote about my first week of college. I was so nervous to write this essay because it was my first college paper to write and the prompt did not ask for much. Usually, in high school, teachers told you exactly what they wanted and what they expected from you. ButRead MorePersonal Narrative : A Semester Of Learning959 Words   |  4 PagesLearning Since my early high school days, teachers have preached to me on the importance of writing in my future college classes and career. With each year came a further development of my writing and the addition of tools that I could add to my arsenal. I learned when to be creative and when to be strictly fundamental. I learned when to write formally and when to write informally. Year after year, I was taught the different forms of writing such as a research paper, a narrative, and a persuasiveRead MoreMy First Year Experience Program1134 Words   |  5 Pageswasn’t high expectations at my previous school of good writing techniques and correct uses of writing tools. During the course of this semester I became a stronger writer and well prepared for the rest of my college career here at Pacific Lutheran University by improving my vocabulary, being more descriptive and altering my writing process to be more successful. The Writing 101 assignment that I have chosen best demonstrates my progress as a writer is our Personal Narrative Essay. Though this was ourRead MorePublic Speaking Speech925 Words   |  4 PagesEach speech throughout public speaking was delivered by the use of unique speaking styles and techniques. I felt the speeches delivered- personal narrative, redefinition, advocacy, and commemorative- built on each other. This allowed myself as well as other students to effectively use old speaking techniques while learning to adapt new techniques. The goal of these various speaking techniques was to keep the attention of the audience while trying to get the overall message of the speech across. AlthoughRead MoreMy First Time Making A Career Goal1516 Words   |  7 Pagesand most importantly, I learned how to improve my writing skills and how this course changed my perception of English and apply it in the future. I have gained so much knowledge about writing in this class and it made a gr eat impact on my skills. These lessons I have learned in this class has been very beneficial and I will carry these lessons in the future. The first essay we did in this course is about narrative essay and the topic I had chosen was my first time making a career goal. There are many

The Adoption Of International Financial Reporting Standards

The adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards [IFRSs] around the world has motivated empirical research that examines the effects it has on the accounting information. There is a visible contrast in these studies due to the use of various elements such as difference of researched countries, analysis periods, distinctive research design and reporting heterogeneous findings. Besides, there is also limited evidence of how the mandatory IFRS adoption affected the financial statements. Hence, this study provides comparative findings on the impact of IFRS adoption on the value relevance of reported accounting information in the UK. The purpose of this study is to advance the accounting value relevance research through a more†¦show more content†¦We find mixed evidence of an increase in value relevance. Ohlson 1995 linear valuation model was used to analyse the assumption about the association between market value, earnings and book value of equity. Simultaneously the statistical significance of differences between UK GAAP-based ratios and IFRS-based ratios was tested using non-parametric Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test. The results presented that the influence of earnings on share price and book value of equity increased following the introduction of IFRS the United Kingdom. Moreover, the profitability ratios increased whereas the Price/Earnings Ratio decreased considerably. 1.1 Preamble The main purpose of financial reporting is to deliver transparent financial information regarding a company to the investors and general public. The financial crisis of 2008 had shown that absence of transparency in the financial statements may have an adverse effect on investor confidence. High quality accounting information is an essential criterion for well- functioning economy as investors rely on this information for investment purposes. Value relevance is thus one of the basic attributes of accounting quality. (Francis et al. 2004) â€Å"Something is value relevant only if the value reflects information relevant to an investor when the investor is valuing the company

The Lost Boys Directed by Joel Schumacher - 547 Words

Conversely, Kusserow, instead of using irony or literary images, she forms meaning in her poetry through the use of metaphors. As Tyson states, â€Å" A metaphor is a comparison of two dissimilar objects in which the properties of one are ascribed to the other† (143). Kusserow uses several metaphors throughout her poem to help elucidate the effects of the Second Sudanese Civil Wars on the Lost Boys. Regarding the â€Å"Lost Boys†, the name given to the groups of over 20,000 boys of the Neur and Dinka ethnic groups who were displaced and orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War, Kusserow writes, â€Å"packs of bony Lost Boys / roving like hyenas towards Ethiopia, / tongues, big as toads, swelling in their mouths† (15-17). Here, Kusserow has used two zoomorphic metaphors, applying animal characteristics sot humans. She compares the Lost Boys to a hyena, a wild and chaotic animal, depicting the boys as a bunch of mad and violent scavengers, implying that they try to search for and collect anything that can be a source of food for them. Moreover, her comparison in which she describes the tongues of the Boys to be as big as toads, she is illustrating the extreme level of dehydration that the boy’s probable experienced, and how their tongues swell up since that is a symptom of dehydration. From Kusserow’s use of zoomorphic metaphors, we can see that she is trying to show how the Lost Boys have been dehumanized due to the dreadful condition they have had to face as a product of the SecondShow MoreRelatedMy First Experience With A Colored Television856 Words   |  4 PagesAs a very young girl in the early seventies, my first experience with a colored television came when my dad brought one home so that my brother, sister and I could watch Chitty-Chitty, Bang-Bang (1968) directed by Ken Hughes and starring Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes and Lionel Jeffries when it aired on TV for the first time. We often visited the General Ci nema at the local mall to see movies on the big screen, but that first time watching a favorite film in the comfort of our den, on a coloredRead MoreA Tale Of Bram Stoker s Dracula994 Words   |  4 Pagessparkle under direct sunlight. They ****ing sparkle. For what reasons did these changes occur? The story of the vampire was started from Dracula, how did it end up with Edward the sparkling vampire? Lets start from the first vampire movie â€Å"Nosferatu† directed by F. W. Morning 1922. Where the Vampire count was less of a human and more of a monster. Having a larger than average head, skinny long fingers, pointy long ears that resemble a bat. Most times he was seen as creepy in not horrifying. At the timeRead MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pagesmotivated by simple cost considerations, and underlined its importance for moving the brand forward towards long-term goals. Central would be keeping the brand cool in the eyes of its customers. The Ministry of Sound was perceived by many as having lost its ‘edginess’. Mark Rodol insisted: That’s what we’re working on. It is possible to be big and cutting edge – there are big mass market brands like Nike and PlayStation that manage to retain an edge despite their size. That’s what we intend to do

RAOUL and the report evaluates the marketing management strategies free essay sample

The report attempts to focus on the strategies undertaken for the purpose of introducing eco friendly products in the Singaporean market. The company that has been chosen is RAOUL and the report evaluates the marketing management strategies that have been undertaken by the company and determines the market position of the company by means of SWOT, PESTEL and competitor analysis. Further, a detail analysis has been done to evaluate the acceptance of the eco friendly brand in the Singaporean market.1.1. Company backgroundRAOUL is one of leading exporters of fashionable garments and has been the one of the most sought-after fashion stores for the fashionable people. RAOUL has been recognized for its brand of product offerings with designs of contemporary fashion and superior quality. RAOUL was set up in the year 2002, when it produced garments for men like business shirts in relatively affordable prices (Lusch Vargo, 2014). The company flourished due to the variety and quality of products offered. The company further expanded its scope and introduced garments for women in the year 2004. Currently the company is one of the leading manufacturer and distributor of fashionable garments across the globe (Armstrong et al., 2014).1.2. Product backgroundRAOUL has been one of the leading exporters of fashion garments in Singapore and is recognized globally for its brand and variety of product offerings. The company initially produced mens garments like shirts and other outfits. However, in the year 2004 RAOUL expanded its market reach by producing garments for women (Raoul Clothing, 2018). The company presently operates over 200 locations including Asia, Europe, and Middle East. The company today has international fame with showrooms in Milan and New York. RAOUL has also expanded on its product offerings by introducing exclusive collections on a yearly basis (U.S, 2018).2.0. Macro analysis2.1. PoliticalThe political scenario of Singapore is stable and the government is supportive towards industrial growth. Garment industry is considered an important industry as the people of Singapore has a taste for fashionable garments. The government provides support to financial as well as infrastructural support for the purchase of the raw materials to ensure the smooth functioning and growth of the clothing industry. Due to the political stability, the economic standards of the people of Singapore have improved. This has indirectly contributed to the growth of the fashion industry. The regulatory rules of the government are also flexible for the growth of companies like RAOUL.2.2. EconomicalSingapore is an economically developed country with a positive GDP value at the end 2017 (Ministry of trade Singapore, 2018). The average standard of living is high with most of population belonging to economically affluent families. Therefore, people with strong economic solvency are more drawn to fashion and style, which further contributes to the growth of apparel industries like RAOUL (Arnett ; Wittmann, 2014). Singapore is economically developed to cater to the requirements need for the growth of fashion industry. 2.3. SocialPeople of Singapore are culturally vibrant and have a western taste about their social, cultural and ethnic orientation. The people of Singapore have greater preference for a variety of fashionable garments and goods and spend a major part of their income on the purchase of fashionable and trendy garments. Moreover, the people of Singapore are influenced by the various fashion shows that are promoted. People are more concerned with the environmental harm that we are facing globally through the years eco-friendly fashion had gradually gain its popularity hence eco friendly products which are have quite a demand in the international market (Melissa Heng, 2017). Therefore, the market scenario is appropriate for the growth of clothing brands like RAOUL. 2.4. TechnologicalSingapore is technologically sound as it has vast reserves of technological amenities that support the growth of industry in terms of infrastructural facilities. The technology support that the country caters to contributes largely, in the growth and expansion of industries. Apparel industry is highly innovation centric and the abundance of technological and resources help in the growth of such industries (Heizer, 2016). RAOUL is a brand that caters to a variety of designer clothes and garments that requires adequate mechanical and technological support. This is catered to in fair degree in Singapore. 2.5. EnvironmentalThe environmental factors prevalent in Singapore are favorable for the growth of fashion stores like RAOUL. RAOUL is recognized for its brand of luxurious product offerings to their customers (Johnston ; Marshall, 2016). The brand is dedicated to provide its customers with superior quality garments, which are fashionable and in accordance to the current trend practices in the fashion market. The use of inorganic chemical dyes is consciously avoided, which further keeps the environment safe.2. 6. LegalThe legal factors concerning the regulatory rules as well as the financial complications that arise due to disputes between the employees and employers on matters pertaining timely payment of wages is effective catered by the company (Zhao, 2016). Therefore, RAOUL faces not much of legal problems, which further contributes to the smooth operational flow of the company. The legal regulations implemented by the government are flexible for the growth of the industry.3.0. Competitor analysisBrands Market share Target audience Positioning Price Distribution PromotionMassimo Dutti Fashion 19. 3% Upper class audience Diverse product range, 100% reliability of material, personal tailoring 1350 11200 Selective Internet marketing, public relation, personal selling, advertisingValentino 21.7% Upper class audience Wedding dresses, designer dresses, perfumes 2500 47000 Selective Advertising, internet selling, public relationGAP 22% Middle and lower class audience Maternity, plus size clothes, dresses for younger generation 250 700 Extensive Advertising, public relation, personal sellingCharles ; Keith 15% Middle and lower class audience Kids clothes, shoes, accessories 300 2000 Extensive personal selling, advertising, internet marketingAll dressed up 7.8% Upper and middle class audience Special occasions and daywear for ladies 200 15000 Selective Internet marketing, public relation, personal selling, advertisingFigure 1: market share of apparel industry (Singapore)The market share here has been developed along with the division of the fiscal year. The market share can be ga ined by adding the total revenue that is earned by the organization. After the addition of the total revenue earned by the organization, the revenue earned by the entire industry has to be calculated. The market share can be calculated based on the result gained from the division of the firms earning by the industrys earning. Based on the number of product sales, it is evident that GAP and Massimo Dutti Fashion are the leaders in the apparel market share of the company (Massimo Dutti India, 2018). These two brands are the most preferred brands in the apparel market in Singapore. From the market share, it is evident that most of the companies are targeting the upper class of the society as they can afford luxurious products of the company. Thus, the mentioned company, Raoul has the opportunity to explore the market for the lower and the middle-class people.4.0. SWOT analysisA SWOT analysis helps in the determination of the micro environmental factors or the internal factors that are associated with the smooth operation of the company (Shabanova et al., 2015). There are many factors in the industry and area of operations, which directly influences the operational flow of the company. A SWOT analysis helps in the estimation of the strengths weakness opportunities and threats of an organization so that effective strategies can be undertaken effectively (Ho, 2014). To analyze the market position of RAOUL, SWOT analyses have been conducted.Strengths? The biggest strength of RAOUL is that the company has a good collection of designer clothes that are trendy and are inspired by German folk art (Solomon, 2014).? The capital strength of the organization is strong enough to support the new intention of introducing the eco friendly fashion brands for the cautious customers.? RAOUL provides a variety of customers to its customers and are unique in their productions with respect to the color and quality of fabrics Weakness? One of the major weaknesses of RAOUL is that while the company is most famous in United Kingdom, it is not very reputed in the o ther parts of the world.? RAOUL has a good brand value, but it only caters to the demand for luxury products that are far beyond the reach of ordinary people. ? A limited customer base affects the brand value of the company.Opportunities? RAOUL makes use of the abundant technological resources to attract a wide range of customers by means of online promotion (Chiarini, 2015).? RAOUL makes extensive application of the various advertising and promotional strategies to attract customers across the globe? Internationally, the demand for the eco friendly fashion retail brands have been increasing from time to time.Threats? The biggest challenge to the company is the threat posed by the rival companies such as Masssimo Dutti and the likes.? The financial fluctuations often affect the purchasing capacity of the customers.? There have been threats of duplicity and brand imitations that have affected the reputation of the brand in the recent years.The SWOT analysis of RAOUL helps in the analysis of the potential strengths weakness opportunities and threats of the company, helps them in the implementation of proper strategies, which would enable the company to withstand the threats of the rival companies, and helps the company to secure the competitive advantage. This allows them to strengthen the market position in the fashion industry. The evaluation of the strengths weaknesses opportunities threats serves to present a guideline according to which the company can adopt proper rules and strategies to ensure that the company can proceed towards its goal of growth and expansion.5.0. ConclusionIn conclusion, the variety of product offerings that RAOUL ensures effective customer value along with its effective strategic management helps them to secure a high degree of competitive advantage. This is the sole reason why the organization have been considering of introducing eco friendly product line in the market. The policies of marketing mix and other strategies have been effectively undertaken to ensure that the company is able to hold its market position as one of the leading fashion exports of the world as well as step into the world of the eco friendly fashion brand.

Dissertation for Financial Portfolio Analysis Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Dissertation For Financial Portfolio Analysis. Answer: Introduction Basic Overview The construction of a financial portfolio is a key issue in the current economies for different nations. Having a financial portfolio plays a paramount role in the theoretical and practical application of the sustainable financial economics. In a portfolio composition analysis, an investor selects a set of individual assets. This paper seeks to study 5 assets obtained from Yahoo finance over a 2-year period from 01/09/2013 to 31/08/2015 so as to make investments. The portfolio can accommodate various shares, unit trusts, bonds, PEPS, ISAS, options, cash, foreign currency or other financial instruments. The portfolio concerns itself more over how to spread the investment funds among the chosen assets as opposed to the criteria when choosing the assets. Each asset has a unit price at the time of purchase and can be subsequently updates. It has a price and return at the purchase time and at any future time. Return mainly measures the increase in price of the asset as calculated on a dai ly basis as either a fraction or a percentage. It is given by Ri (t) = When the portfolio does an analysis over a lengthier period of time, for instance, this paper does a research on a two-year period, the log return is considered much more convenient. It is, therefore, obtained by, LRi (t) = = Where P is the price vector, L =length(P) and LR= The assets chosen for this paper are analyzed for returns rather than prices so as to avoid the issues that would result due to currency different. Using returns makes the problem-solving process purely equity based. The profit consists of return from the portfolio of investments and its capital appreciation. Associated is the task of limiting the risk of losing money. A risk is considered an opportunity in the financial markets. The financial portfolio analysis seeks to develop a theory based on getting the best return from the portfolios over a single period of time. The Nasdaq share prices of MSFT are obtained from finance.yahoo.com. Objectives Of The Study To determine the equivalent mean, variance, standard deviation of the shares returns annually, and the annual covariance matrix V of the returns. To analyze the covariance and share price behavior over a given time interval and the efficient frontier and explicitly plot the outcome. To use the utility functions to find the ideal investment portfolio at the beginning of the given time period (Year 1- construct portfolio, Year 2- future return validation). To investigate the relationship between SPY and VIX. Literature Review Different companies do their stock market valuation or share prices based on the performance of the company over a long-term period only. Short term valuations can beat down the record held by companies valued highly over longer periods as problems are bound to occur over long period appraisals than when short period appraisals are done. Interest can be viewed from the lenders and borrowers end. Interest is the gain from investing for a lender and the reward for trouble of lending a borrower advanced capital. The amount of initial outlay and the length of time the money is lent decides how much the interest is due. There are three frequently used financial rates namely the AER, EAR, and APR. Investment is perceived as the utilization of funds on assets with a focus on earning income or capital appreciation. The main investment strategy has two key attributes: time and risk. These two attributes indicate the risk factor. The risk is undertaken in a view to reap some return from the in vestment. The financial investment ensures the distribution of money of assets that are expected to yield some gain over a period of time. It is an exchange of financial claims for money. They are expected to yield returns and experience capital growth over the years. The main aim of the construction of a financial portfolio is to ensure the maximization of return, minimization or risk, and hedge against the inflation(Kasilingam, n.d.). The paper uses the dataset of the historical data obtained from Nasdaq. It is the first electronic exchange that provides a platform for the investors to buy and sell stock. Nasdaq is a statistical measure of a slice of the market. The Dow 30 shows a dataset comprised of prices for different institutions and how the compare to each other. The DJIA tracks the routine of thirty different companies that are considered key players in the market. The Nasdaq tracks about four thousand stocks that trade on the Nasdaq exchange. Nasdaq deals with organizations such as CISCO, Microsoft, intel and apple. The two market indices are a representative of a mathematical average used to make sense of the stock market. Assets at origin are funds that give no return and have no risk. The efficient frontier is defined by portfolio that no point has high return with the risk of H and no point with the return of H has lower risk. It is measured by the expected utility function. Methodology The financial portfolio is concerned about risk, return, safety, and liquidity. The return is a random variable that is obtained as the mean of given data and is referred to as the expected return and the associated risk. It is a standard deviation denoted as i. The empirical random variable model of the Ri is obtained by Where ej is a random variable term. Results The data obtained was evaluated at the closing price. All the shares trade in USD for uniformity on the currency and to avoid complicated addendum based on risk of using different currencies. The figure above show a monthly based analysis with data obtained for the third day of each month. There is a significant improvement in the share returns recorded from the year 2013 to the year 2015. Statistical analysis was conducted on the closing share indices of the returns for the monthly data set in use. Statistical Analysis All the calculations are done based on the adjusted close values in USD. Statistical analysis The results of the statistical evaluation to achieve objective 1 are discussed below. These are the resulting values for the entire period for the adjusted close. The MATLAB code snippet for the statistical evaluation is as shown below Annual covariance matrix V of the share returns The same amount for variance is obtained for covariance. The covariance matrix is discussed below. Efficient frontier portfolio for the multiple risky assets Discussion The statistical mean on the data is obtained using the equation shown below, It can be denoted in vector form as, Where both w and are sets raised to the power of T. secondly, for the variance, there is a well-known result. The standard deviation is the square root of the variance. This is denotated in summation form as, This can be denoted in matrix terms as the neater expression of the variance The covariance matrix is similar to the variance value obtained. Note that, And that the covariance of the matrix is purely concerned with the statistically linear relation aspects. These are the aspects of the relation between the returns Ri and Rj from the assets Ai and Aj. The var(Ri) is associated with the variability of the return Ri from Ai. For efficient frontier, the mean-standard deviation plots for portfolio optimization is completely specified by using a portfolio object when the two conditions are met. MATLAB code uses the finance toolbox to create a portfolio object and set the required parameters. A covariance matrix is needed to achieve the asset mean and asset covariance for analysis for efficient frontier. When variables are positively related, they move in the same direction but when the relationship is negative, the variables are inversely related. The covariance and correlation indicates this relationship. The trend observed on the relationship of the share returns and prices over the two-year period, in the first year the data was used to construct a portfolio. In the second year, the remaining data set was used to test the portfolio and determine if the portfolio works well on the test data. The economic growth and Nasdaq share returns are evaluated to show a positive covariance. The formula used, assuming that x-economic growth and y-Nasdaq share returns, is, The economic growth of the country is evaluated as the independent variable, the values used are mean values of the data set in the first section. As a result, one can determine if the units of measure are increasing or decreasing. Correlation come in to aid the covariance measure the degree to which a relationship is positive or negative. It is the statistical dependency between returns which controls the sought feature of obtaining high return for low risk. The efficient frontier is decided by portfolios which minimize the risk for a required expected return that maximizes the expected return for a given level of risk. From a given study, the relationship between the closing prices of the SPY and VIX shows that the SPY has a higher trend line than the VIX. The SPY needs to go down a few indices so as to move in the same direction as the VIX. This would ascertain the rule of thumb for positive correlation and covariance. According to the black Scholes formula for options, the MATLAB function used has arguments such as the current price for the underlying asset, exercise price of the option, annualized, continuously compounded risk-free rate of return over the life of the option, time taken by option to expire (years), and the continuously compounded yield of the underlying asset over the life of the option. Conclusion In a nutshell, the financial portfolio analysis attains very substantial information from the dataset used. The data set was obtained from the Nasdaq stock exchange and the share returns and share prices were evaluated at the adjusted close price for each quarter or even on monthly basis. Several graphical representations were obtained using the MATLAB software such as the efficient frontier and the statistical calculations. 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